When Bob Lutz learned that he would be coming to Greenwich High School to take over the boy’s lacrosse program, he knew he had landed somewhere special.
As a former assistant coach for FCIAC foes Darien, Stamford and New Canaan and a former player for New Canaan, Lutz is well familiar with the conference’s high level of talent and sometimes, higher expectations.
“You want to go to a team that has a shot to win FCIAC’s and states,” said GHS boy’s lacrosse coach Bob Lutz. “This is definitely one of the elite programs in the FCIAC. When you come to a team like this, your expectations are to compete and hopefully win FCIAC’s and states. There’s a lot of competition, but when you look at some of the talent we have, we have an opportunity to put ourselves in that position.”
Lutz takes over for Scott Bulkley, who took a job coaching lacrosse for Newtown High School, where his kids go to school.
Having coached under Darien’s Jeff Brameier, who is entering his 33rd season at the helm, Lutz wants to bring the knowledge he has learned over the years to Greenwich while also making his own mark in the state’s most competitive conference.
“I would like to come in, leave my mark and stay around to watch our youth teams develop,” said Lutz. “The pressure comes with having to compete at a higher level and playing teams like Ridgefield, New Canaan and Darien.”
Ridgefield eliminated Greenwich from both the FCIAC and state tournament last year, while Lutz at Darien was part of back-to-back FCIAC and state championship teams in 2014 and 2015.
During his time with the Blue Wave, Lutz learned the importance of having a solid defense and plans to implement different defensive schemes for the Cardinals this season.
“Coming from Darien, you want a strong defense,” said Lutz. “They have one of the best defenses in the entire country. At the same time, if you have the offense carry you a little bit, then our defense can keep us in games.”
Greenwich will be led this year by their four captains in Will Perry, Scooter Harrington, Michael Sands and Cal Smith.
“Coach Lutz has been great,” Harrington said. “We’re still trying to get a few schemes down both on offense and defense and we’re putting in the time to learn them. It’s about us putting in the hard work preparing for a pretty tough season.”
Perry, an All-American midfielder, will play at the University of North Carolina next year while Sands and Harrington both cause havoc for defenders with their size and leadership.
“So far, our captains have taken on a great leadership role. They are not only vocal, but they lead by example,” said Lutz. “Scooter, playing football, is a natural born leader. Will Perry dazzles you with skill and it’s easy for him to lead by example. Michael Sands is our great vocal leader and he knows there is some inexperience in some aspects of our game. It’s like having another coach on the field when he’s out there.”
Cal Smith, will take on the role of premier defenseman as the lone captain on the defensive side after being named to the FCIAC honorable mention team last season.
In goal will be senior Bennett Cooper, who is new to the position after goalie Tommy Rogan graduated from GHS last year.
“Cal realizes his role is not only to play, but to teach some of the more inexperienced guys,” said Lutz. “They’ve all done a great job of doing that so far. I think we’re a little inexperienced on defense. We have a bunch of first-year starters, including our goalie and a few of our defenders. Our experience is with our offense and kids like Will Perry, Michael Sands and Jack O’Connor.”
In the Cardinal’s first game of the season, Greenwich was upended by St. Anthony School (NY) 16-5 in a non-conference game to kick off the year.
Despite the loss, Lutz says his team will ultimately benefit from the early season beat down, but there is still a ways to go for the tough task of an FCIAC schedule.
“Our first game against St. Anthony’s was a tough one,” said Lutz. “You don’t necessarily want to play a team like that in your first time stepping on the field, or as a head coach. It was tough as a Connecticut team, being two weeks behind their scheduling. I think getting a whooping against a team like that makes you refocus and hit the reset button.”
The Cardinals left no doubt, however, during their conference opener on Tuesday against Westhill High School, beating the Vikings 20-1 at Cardinal Stadium.
Perry scored three goals to go with two assists as five other Cardinals also scored at least twice on the day. Tyler Saleeby recorded three assists as a total of 10 Cardinals recorded a goal during Tuesday’s matchup.
Cooper started the game in goal, but did not record a save as the stingy Cardinal defense kept the Vikings scoreless for the first 25 minutes of play.
“It was huge for us and our younger kids to get that varsity experience,” said Harrington. “There’s nothing like it. We have a small group of seniors and we’re trying to set an example for the younger kids on the team. This is a new team with a lot of talented underclassmen.”
Coach Lutz used the opportunity to run a variety of different sets and see how his underclassmen performed in their first run at the varsity level.
His message to his team during his inaugural year at the helm will come with a team-first attitude that comes from a journey through playing, as an assistant coach and now as the head coach of Greenwich High.
“In all the years I have coached alongside Coach Jeff Brameier, he knew that I eventually wanted to be a head coach,” said Lutz. “Everything was a learning experience. Having him as a hall of famer, you try and soak up as much as you can. Team stuff will come and go, but it’s how you manage the whole entire program that makes it successful.”
